Life as a rockstar isn’t always as glamorous as it’s cracked up to be. Former vocalist of Kamikaze Butterfly, (and best dad on the planet) Gary Polley, often sat in the back of venues after shows eating cold Chef Boyardee out of the can, taking “showers” with hand sanitizer, and living off of Denny’s coffee. Though he has shared the stage with bands like Anthrax, Quiet Riot, Monster Magnet, Smashing Pumpkins, Brian May of Queen and Sevendust, he took the time to tell me about the real, hardworking life of a touring musician.
What was life like for you on the road?
Well, in the early days it was rough. We didn’t know if we were getting paid from show to show. But as we climbed up the ladder, it was pretty cool. We were so excited to be playing city to city, even though it was difficult. We had a lot of down time in between doing interviews and playing, so I often went to check out the town or sit and read. Life on the road for some bands touring at an indie level is harder than you would expect. I had to make sure I got a lot of sleep and I didn’t talk much on show days for the sake of saving my voice [for the performance].
How did you get started in the music industry?
When I first started playing, it was because I found my parents Who and Beatles records and decided, “Well, I want to do that.” So, I saved up money, bought a guitar, learned how to play it, found some friends who shared my interests and started bashing away in a basement. We played church halls, parties and found different people outside my neighborhood as I got older to aid with my plan to take over the world, I guess. [laughs] But I had no concept of the music industry. I think as we got popular in Chicago, the industry found me [laughs]! But once you get out there, accountants and managers come and find you. I always took my education seriously and started to learn about music law, publishing and copyrighting. I didn’t want us to be lost in that world.
What was the hardest thing you had to deal with in this line of work?
In our early days, it was finding shows. Once finding shows wasn’t a problem anymore, then it was getting paid. A lot of club owners tried to stiff us for some money, or sometimes all. Fans were never the problem, it was just the people that came around once we started to move up the chain that wanted us to be something possibly...big. A lot of hanger-on’s start showing up. These were people who claimed to be paralegals of record companies or people who tried to take you out to lunch or try get you to a certain place as a band. There are a lot of sleazeballs in the music business looking for bands to manipulate or use to feel important without having to do the work. Being in a band on the outside looks fun, but as I’ve said before, it’s really hard work.
How did you deal with people who tried to take away your creative control?
We pushed them away. And we were known in that world at that time for standing our ground. Not hard to work with, necessarily, but would not bend to others. When we started getting popular in the early 90’s here in Chicago, there was a lot of jockeying for positions with bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Liz Phair and Veruca Salt. We had one record engineer who tried to push us in a direction we didn’t really want to go in and we had to cut him off. At that time, there was a record company who had their eye on a band with a very popular frontman, who ended up getting signed instead of us. He took them because of our refusal to be turned into a Marilyn Manson-y type band which we were uncomfortable with. We didn’t want to change what got us to where we were.
What kind of opportunities came up for you? What about turn downs?
As we moved up the chain, we were given opportunities to tour with or open for national acts and gave us a test of where we were as a band. I remembered when we toured with Anthrax; watching them go on stage was unbelievable. But also to be on that lineup and hold our own ground gave us a lot of confidence to play. It meant everything to us to hear bands like that watch our act and compliment us on our skills because growing up, that’s what we looked up to and listened to. As for turndowns, maybe opening up for some bands that we couldn’t wait to meet or chat with who ended up disregarding or rebuffing us.
What was your relationship like with your band and your peers?
I think we got along great. Obviously we fought, as every band does. As you move up, sometimes some people have different opinions on what should be done and how it should be done. At times it created a hierarchy within the band, which put me in the front as lead singer. It was never a dictatorship, but never a democracy, either. In my opinion, a democracy never really works in a band, but there needs to be a leadership of some sort. There also needs to be a trust, so the members of the band can allow that person to be in front and say, “Hey, he knows what we all speak for.” Musically, another band member and I created all the words and music. The other two held their strength elsewhere with doing things like promotion, visuals or the communicating with the fans.
What can you tell others about being a rockstar or a touring musician that most people wouldn’t know or guess?
Well… it doesn’t pay as much as one would think. The level I obtained as a musician still had a level of uncertainty about it. One day I could be on Mancow’s radio show hanging out with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and two days later I could be in a club in Toledo in front of twenty people. Indie life can be up and down. At one time I was getting free meals, opening up for Brian May and signing autographs thinking, “Yep. This is it.” And the next day I was in a cornfield in Iowa. [laughs] It’s uncertain, but you can’t quit.
What advice would you give to someone who wanted to follow in your footsteps?
Don’t! [laughs] But really, be prepared for let downs. Don’t quit. Hone your craft as an artist, be professional and be disciplined. You can get cast aside for being a clown in this line of work. For years and years and years it can go with no pay and you don’t know when you climb that next level. You need to be kind to others and treat people with respect as you climb that ladder. Our fans were important to us and would often travel from town to town to see us play. I never got over the concept of people wanting to spend their money to see me play, buy my CD or buy my T-shirt. I was incredibly thankful for it. The music industry is a lot different now, and use your new tools like GarageBand, YouTube and SoundCloud to your advantage. But universally, what sticks it all together is the songs. Write good songs. Learn your craft. It’s not easy.